If there’s a time of year when culinary excitement peaks, it’s Christmas. The great pastry chefs of this world bring their exceptional “collections” to titillate the palate… and the eyes. This season, it’s Catherine Méra who wins the prize, or should we rather say: panache!
Based in Baie-Saint-Paul since 2019, then in Quebec since 2022, the dessert goldsmith offers his most accomplished creations to date. And for the second year in a row, it will deliver to Montreal on December 18 and 20.
The 2023 collection originates from a reflection on nature. The Charlevoix team was directly affected by the floods last spring, by the raging forest fires and by the torrential rains and tornado warnings as well.
“We have chosen to commit to Nature Québec and will donate $2 per log sold to the organization for actions to protect biodiversity and promote sustainable practices,” says Marc Méra, brother of the pastry chef who manages the Baie-Saint-Paul store and who himself lost his home in the flood.
Certainly, there is a world of difference between a raw tree in the forest and the highly crafted logs of Catherine Méra. But isn’t this delicious beauty precisely what humans do best?
The centerpiece, the signature Infiniment Citrus log, is presented on an impressive hand-sculpted Grand Cru chocolate moose plume. The set is obviously not cheap, at $380. But you can also order the log alone, in an eight-person format, for $98. The cake itself is a tribute to the team’s great pastry expertise, with a skilful marriage of citrus fruits (black lemon, yuzu, Buddha’s hand, caviar lemon) each worked in a different way and a pretty manual poaching.
“We estimate that we will do maybe 25 of these sets in total. » If citrus flavors aren’t your favorite, there are five other log options this year (at $69 each): Vanilla & Caramel, Chocolate & Hazelnut, Vanilla & Haskap (a glazed log that pays homage to the polar bear), apple and maple, calamansi (OK, it’s also a citrus fruit!) and timut pepper.
Having tasted many of Catherine Méra’s desserts since our article about her in December 2021, we can confirm that the substance matches the form.
